Alex Smith’s 18-of-19 passing line Monday night will stand after the Elias Sports Bureau concluded a potential 20th pass attempt was indeed a run by Michael Crabtree.

The league’s record book requires a minimum of 20 attempts to qualify for the highest completion percentage in a game.

Crabtree caught a backward pass from Smith to open the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ 24-3 win at Arizona, and officials correctly ruled it a lateral. Also remaining unchanged is a first-quarter play in which pass interference was called on a Smith attempt targeted for Mario Manningham.

Smith’s night, which also included passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns, earned him his first career NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor Wednesday.

Broncos: Peyton Manning’s right thumbnail was covered with white tape and put under a media microscope upon his return to the field. Manning’s throws and handoffs at practice were unaffected by his thumb injury in his first action since smacking his throwing hand on a defender’s helmet Sunday. Manning said his thumb was “sore, but it’s more of an irritant than anything else.”

Redskins: Receiver Pierre Garcon (torn toe ligament) and safety Brandon Meriweather (sprained knee ligaments) are unlikely to play again this week against Carolina, postponing their return until after the bye.

Bengals: Coach Marvin Lewis publicly challenged quarterback Andy Dalton and middle linebacker Rey Maualuga to become more forceful leaders on their 3-4 team. “We’re looking for our quarterback and our middle linebacker to take hold of our football team, and I think that’s important for us,” Lewis said. “I think both guys are such good people, that you’ve got to be a little bit of a (jerk). You do.”

Tebow trade rumors: A Jacksonville television station reported that the Jaguars and New York Jets were talking about a trade involving quarterback Tim Tebow. The report by Action News sounded plausible since the Jaguars tried to acquire Tebow in March. But Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey says there’s no truth to the report of ongoing talks between the teams.

Concussion lawsuit: Arguing that “football has become the site of perhaps the gravest health crisis in the history of sports,” lawyers for thousands of former NFL players asked a judge to reject the league’s bid to dismiss their lawsuits about concussions.

In a brief filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, the players dispute the league’s framing of the cases as a labor issue that should be governed by the sport’s collective bargaining agreements instead of the legal system.

Among the players’ arguments: Relevant CBAs did not address long-term brain injuries, the NFL committed fraud by concealing risks of repeated head trauma, and the league has a common-law duty to protect players.